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posted by takyon on Monday September 12 2016, @08:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the I-want-my-internet-tv dept.

Jon Brodkin over at Ars Technica is reporting on a filing submitted to the FCC by Netflix last week asking thc FCC to "declare that home Internet data caps are unreasonable and that they limit customers' ability to watch online video."

From the article:

Netflix submitted a filing last week for the FCC's annual investigation of broadband deployment, a review that is mandated by Congress in Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act. Specifically, Congress requires the FCC to determine whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion and "take immediate action" to accelerate deployment if it's not happening to the commission's satisfaction.

The commission's assessment generally focuses on availability and speed, but Netflix wants the commission to add data caps to the mix. "Data caps (especially low data caps) and usage-based pricing ('UBP') discourage a consumer's consumption of broadband, and may impede the ability of some households to watch Internet television in a manner and amount that they would like," Netflix wrote. "For this reason, the Commission should hold that data caps on fixed-­line networks ­­and low data caps on mobile networks­­ may unreasonably limit Internet television viewing and are inconsistent with Section 706."

[...] Netflix argued that a 300GB-per-month allotment "is required just to meet the Internet television needs of an average American," without accounting for other things consumers want to do on the Internet, like Web browsing and downloading games and applications. "The Commission should recognize that data caps and UBP on fixed line networks are an unnecessary constraint on advanced telecommunications capability," Netflix said.

Comcast, the nation's largest home Internet provider, recently raised its caps from 300GB to 1TB, making it easier for customers to watch online video instead of Comcast's own cable TV service. But consumers' data needs are increasing quickly enough that "today's 'above-average' Internet consumer is tomorrow's average Internet consumer," Netflix said.

Data caps also aren't necessary for network management, Netflix argued. The online video provider pointed to a government survey from 2014 in which ISPs told regulators that congestion wasn't a problem on their networks. ISPs have alternatively described data caps "as a way to align consumers' use of the network with what they pay," Netflix said.

So what say you, Soylentils? Do data caps discriminate against online video providers?

Do data caps negatively impact other types of Internet usage?

Is online video the bulk of the data you consume through your Internet connection?

Do you have a data cap? If so, what is it and how often do you exceed it? If you do exceed it, what steps does your ISP take in response?


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:32PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:32PM (#400946)

    Bandwidth is ridiculously cheap. I mean crazy cheap. Especially in bulk. And it keeps getting cheaper each year.

    Here are some recent bulk IP transit costs: [streamingmedia.com]

    10Gbps: $0.85 – $1.10 Mbps
    20Gbps: $0.75 – $0.95 Mbps
    40Gbps: $0.62 – $0.80 Mbps
    75Gbps: $0.55 – $0.70 Mbps
    100Gbps: $0.45 – $0.60 Mbps

    1mbps, running flat-out 24 hours per day for 30 days is just a tad under 1TB.
    So multiply by 10 to more than compensate for peak usage and all other overhead.
    That works out to $6/TB at the kind of wholesale prices that big ISPs pay.

    Lets say your internet bill is roughly $60/month. Even with all the fixed overhead for hardware and support staff, that leaves a ton of margin since most customers don't even hit 1TB/month.

    Data caps are nothing more than abuse of monopoly status.

    Starting Score:    0  points
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    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:39PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:39PM (#400949)

    Wow you remind me of the whiners back in the day who didn't want to pay their phone bills while Bell Labs was inventing Unix.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:40PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:40PM (#400950)

      Are you new at this trolling thing, or just not very bright?

      Because you're doing a terrible job. Heck, no one's even modded you down.

      Keep at it, you might get better.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:51PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:51PM (#400957)

        Because one must be a troll to remind you that there are costs beyond supporting existing infrastructure. Someone needs to do R&D or technology never advances. Revenue to pay for R&D has to come from somewhere, like say, customers actually paying their bills for a little more than just the service they use right now.

        Sorry the AT&T Unix example is too old for you because you think "Linux invented computers" or something.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:55PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:55PM (#400960)

          Lol. Comcast, et al don't do R&D.
          The closest they come to that are limited test deployments of new tech from their vendors as trial runs before rolling it out to all of their customers.
          Weak troll is weak.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:04PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:04PM (#400965)

          You really have no idea who you're dealing with, do you?

          Then again, I am posting AC.

          If I'm not older than you, sweetie pie, than you're already eligible for social security.

          I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind...

          Poor schmuck. I feel sorry for you.

          You can do better. I know you can. Please, keep working on it. I have faith in you, my son.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:13PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:13PM (#400972)

            Dawn of the third age of mankind ... was in 1993. I remember it well. Not much of a boast to demonstrate advanced age.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:22PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:22PM (#400978)

              Babylon 5 was good.

              But this is the third age of mankind [midlifeunlimited.com]

              You're improving slightly. Keep working on it. Kissy Kissy!

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:07PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:07PM (#400968)

          A little better troll. Have you heard of something called patents?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:24PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:24PM (#400979)

          Ah the good ol' brainwashed free market capitalist hard at work. "What else do you think they do with all that extra money? It has to go somewhere!" yes, right into the pockets of a handful of people. So glad we get to support the lifestyles of the sickeningly rich. Everyone else has given you a hard time already, so I'll skip mine because I don't think I can be nice about it.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:47PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:47PM (#400953)

      Ya I'm not going to log in and waste my points on that lame of a troll... For some reason when a company abuses their monopoly status the people tend to go the other extreme. They know they are being ripped off, so they say fuck it might as well steal some back. You'll always have some theft, but with reasonable pricing it is never an issue (except for teenagers, they have no money and are still working on "ethics")

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:06PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:06PM (#400966)

        Scumcast is evil! We all knows it. Mod me up bro cuz I totally share all your beliefs.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:20PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:20PM (#400977)

          Mod this broheimer up, he knowz. He probably has epic gainz too